Crippled Ayrshire hospitals have been exposed among Scotland’s worst for a drastic drop in operations.
Our theatres carried out almost 1300 fewer operations in the first half of this year compared to 2016.
Staff shortages have been blamed for the crisis, which has seen a nine per cent fall in surgeries.
The average nationwide drop is just seven per cent.
A total of 1296 fewer operations were performed in the first half of 2017 than over the same period in 2016.
The figures, published by NHS Scotland’s Information Services Division, show that scheduled operations fell from 14,450 to 13,154 in the space of a year.
Ayr MSP John Scott said: “These figures are very concerning for two reasons – firstly because they suggest that many hundreds of planned operations that would have been undertaken only a year ago are now being delayed, and secondly because the cut in the number of planned operations in NHS Ayrshire and Arran is among the worst of any NHS Board in Scotland.
“I know just how incredibly hard local hospital staff work to deliver good quality health care for local people, but it seems clear that long-standing problems with staff recruitment are continuing to have an adverse effect within NHS Ayrshire and Arran.
“We can’t have a situation where patients are left waiting for months for operations because of staff shortages, so it’s time for the Scottish Government to get a proper grip of this problem.”
Liz Moore, director of acute services at NHS Ayrshire and Arran, said: “Like most health boards in Scotland, NHS Ayrshire & Arran saw a reduction in the number of scheduled operations from January to July this year (2017) compared to the same period last year.
“We continue to respond to a high demand for services and are committed to providing safe and appropriate care in a timely manner.
“Every effort is made to ensure cancellations are kept to a minimum – all cancellations are reviewed on a weekly basis and action taken where appropriate to reduce the number of cancellations on scheduled operating lists.”
